Blog Archives for Roads

By Bethanie Walder - February 26, 2010    Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell spent some time on Capitol Hill this week explaining the Forest Service’s proposed 2011 budget with Congressional appropriators and oversight committees.   The new budget proposes to pool numerous existing line items into one large “Integrated Resource Restoration” (IRR) program.  The idea is that this would enable the agency to move forward more effectively toward all restoration objectives, including watershed restoration.

By Thomas R Petersen - February 26, 2010    Canada's grizzly bears are in the news again, and this time not directly because of the controversial bear hunt, but because of "...massive hunting mortality along B.C.'s highways."

By Greg Peters - February 22, 2010   At the tail end of 2009, two prominent political bodies, the Western Governors Association (WGA) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) each sent letters to the USDA extolling watershed restoration, the Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Initiative, and "Right-Sizing" the Forest Road System.

By Bethanie Walder - February 2, 2010   The President’s budget was just released, and with it came increased attention to restoration within the Forest Service, unfortunately that was coupled with what appears to be a decrease in focus on the Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Initiative.   After a cursory view, it also seems that the increased attention on restoration continues a long-running trend within the Forest Service of creating new euphemisms for the old habit of logging.

By Greg Peters - January 13, 2010   

By Bethanie Walder - December 9, 2009    On October 30, Congress appropriated $90 million for the Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Initiative.  The funds are used to protect and restore clean water by reclaiming unneeded roads and fixing the roads we do need.  We just received the 2010 regional allocations, and added them into a chart showing how they compare to the 2008 ($40 million) and 2009 ($50 million) allocations:

By Bethanie Walder - November 6, 2009    On Friday, October 30, President Obama signed the Department of Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010.  The bill provides funding for public lands management across the country, including the national forests.  While there are many great provisions included in this act, Wildlands CPR is thrilled that the Act includes $90 million in funding for the Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Initiative for 2010.  This is equivalent to the total amount allocated to Legacy Roads and Trails in 2008/2009 combined.

By Bethanie Walder - October 7, 2009    I spent the last two days at the Western Governor’s Association (WGA) Wildlife Council (WGWC) meeting in Helena.  The meeting focused on progress toward implementing a resolution for improving wildlife connectivity and linkage zones across the western states.

By Bethanie Walder - July 1, 2009    The Institute for Environmental Negotiation at the University of Virginia conducted a national assessment of the Forest Service's off-road vehicle travel management planning process.  Several of Wildlands CPR's staff were interviewed for this report. We hope it will be useful.

By Sarah Peters - June 5, 2009    Next Thursday evening, June 11 at 7pm at the Roxy Theater in Missoula, MT is a film screening of a new movie entitled "Division Street," co-sponsored by American Wildlands and Transportation For America. A panel discussion with the film's producer, Eric Bendick, and representatives from Tranportation For America and America Wildlands will begin at 8:15pm.  “Division Street” presents a new generation of ecologists, engineers, city-planners, and everyday citizens who are making way for wildlife by transforming the future of the American road.